


Dance With The Dead

by Kairomone



Category: Naruto
Genre: 80s themed, Action & Romance, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Blood and Gore, Demons, F/M, Zombies, zombie/demon apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:02:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23188201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kairomone/pseuds/Kairomone
Summary: During the cusp of the apocalypse a blast from the past makes itself known in the form of a pink haired woman and Madara is forced to face his demons.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Madara
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24
Collections: Death and Evil





	1. The Day Of The Dead

**Author's Note:**

> My entry for this years MadaSakuWeek day 3. The prompt I used was Demon AU. This also has a feeling of "Have we met before?" but since it's not in dialogue I doubt it counts.
> 
> Full AU description - 80s, zombie/demon post-apocalypse, same age AU. Madara still is older than Sakura by 3 years, but considering how their usual age difference is a decade and up I thought it's worth mentioning that this time they're closer in age.
> 
> Inspirations: Days Gone, Doom, Evil Dead and Berserk.
> 
> And yes the story is named after a synthwave band because I'm that unoriginal and their songs originally inspired me to do this idea. All over its supposed to be a story where I just dorp in everything that I like. This story will be closely related to music, so yeah I'm that person that also gave them respective character songs. The Man Who Made a Monster by Dance With The Dead for Madara and Beyond Memory by Nina for Sakura. Listen to them if you like.
> 
> This chapters respective song to create the mood is Cry Little Sister by Gerard McMann. Here's the link to the full play list: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrMLMV6E4CM&list=PLed0MHVrUWLI8xak4sf0iVHxpM_kZl7JW&index=2&t=0s

_September 19th, 1985_

A dull pain throbbed all over his body, the source of the pain unidentifiable. Madara groaned, opening his eyes. The bright light burned his retinas, and he squinted his eyes closed. He was tired and barely could move. His head pulsed with a headache. It was like someone had thrown him under a truck.

Faint memories of being sloshed and aimlessly walking around the dim streets of Konoha passed his mind. There had been a book in his hand. He might have read from the book. Was it poems? Or some other nonsense? It wasn't important. Rest after that was blurred. Red and orange flashing colours and pain.

Madara tentatively opened his eyes again. He flinched, the light still burning his eyes. It took a while to get used to. A stark white room presented itself, a stream of soft light illuminated the room from the window. He was laying in a bed with white sheets. And a woman in a pale dress was on his other side, tending to the side table and an IV. A nurse?

Blearily he brought a hand to his eye, rubbing it. The action hurt way more than it should and he hissed through his teeth.

"Ah, you're awake. I'm going to get a doctor." The nurse smiled and exited the room with a silent click of the door.

He went through the events that had happened the previous night and how could that correlate in him ending up in a hospital bed, sore all over. There was a blank spot in his memory. His injuries didn't tell much. A bandage was on his shoulder, side and thigh and a lot of bruises on his arms. His shoulder specifically was causing the most discomfort. It could be possible that he got into a fight.

This was bad. He assumed that the sole reason why there wasn't a cop waiting for him to wake up to put him in cuffs is that he'd gotten into the habit of carrying no ID around. A habit that was both a convenience and an inconvenience at the same time. It hurt to move, but he had to get out of here as fast as possible.

With a grunt he sat up, favouring greatly his right hand to lean on. Black spots danced before his eyes and he fell back into the pillows. For a moment he stared at the stark ceiling, contemplating moving again.

The door opened and in strode a woman with pale pink hair pulled up in a small ponytail. She beamed and picked up the chart at the end of his bed. "Hello. I'm Dr Haruno, and I will be your doctor for the duration of your stay."

Madara blinked. Her cheer was annoying and her voice grated his nerves. Despite being drowsy he wanted a drink to muddle his brain more and forget that this was happening.

She flipped through the chart, pulled out a pen from her white overcoat and wrote down something. He got the uncanny feeling that he has seen her somewhere before. The face was vaguely familiar.

"Hmm… no name," she murmured, throwing a long appraising look his way. "You were lucky that Mr Inuzuka saw you and transported you here, otherwise you might have bled out in that alley," she paused, letting him take in the information. He stored the name in his memory, not recognizing it. Inhaling and letting her eyes fall back to the chart, she continued. "Because these were wounds from a gun, we have contacted the police and an officer should be here in a couple of minutes to talk to you."

He froze.

"The shot to your shoulder did some minor damage, though you should make a quick recovery. You will be free to go home tomorrow." Dr Haruno put down the chart but didn't move from her spot. She tilted her head, brows drawn. "You must be a member of the Uchiha family; I'd recognize those features anywhere. If you want, I can contact some family for you."

"No!" The abrupt shout hurt his throat, and he coughed. The last thing he needed was those supposed family members finding him. He has to get out of here. Now.

Dr Haruno recoiled back but quickly gathered her composure. "Alright. Can I at least know your name? I need to fill out your chart, and it would help your investigation for when the police gets here."

Shit, shit. With his good hand, he threw off the covers and, ignoring the burning pain, sat up.

Dr Haruno was at his side immediately, a tentative hand on his shoulder. "Please, lay down. You should rest."

Madara slapped her hand away and shifted his legs out of the bed, ripping off the wire connected to him. Dr Haruno moved to touch him again and he glared and pushed her away. "Move."

"Mr Uchiha, please calm down."

He sneered at the use of his last name, pushing past her towards the door. He didn't have time to lay around here. It was bad enough he had landed here in the first place. Less drinking and wandering around from now on. If he could manage it.

Though there was just one problem – his ass was hanging out. The hospital provided sheet-like gowns covered very little. Pausing he turned back to the doctor. "Where are my clothes?"

She opened her mouth, bewildered before she managed to place the words together, motioning faintly to the bedside nightstand. "We had to get rid of them, but new ones should be there along with whatever possessions you were brought in with."

He moved past her, ripping the stand open and finding that indeed a pile of bleak blue was there. The same book from last night was in there too; the same dark brown covers, with a gritty texture.

"But please, you must lay down. You were brought out of surgery only a couple of hours ago, moving around so much might tear the stitches."

Madara stifled through the clothes, clicking his tongue. "Afraid I cannot do so, Doctor." It hurt to move with such urgency and putting on the pyjama pants was more painful than he'd thought it would be. He shucked off the sheet with a grimace and put on the plain t-shirt. On a lower shelf were his boots.

Dr Haruno was nervously flitting her hands, trying to say something else.

He pulled on his boots and as an afterthought, rolled up the book in a spare shirt. Somehow it felt important and like it was a piece of a puzzle that currently had presented itself.

Before he left he cast a last glance towards the doctor. He must have seen her somewhere before. The colour of her hair, her eyes and the way she was fiddling with her hands stirred something in his memory. He gave up. "Thanks for your help, Doctor. Much appreciated." He slightly tilted his head and scurried out, Dr Haruno following him and watching his retreating back at the doorway.

The corridors were filled with people, many of them frantic. Some were shouting at the few nurses that were running around. It was stuffy and the noise was increasing the further he went.

Madara kept his head down, avoiding making direct eye contact. He had to shove his way through various crowds of people, none of them too bothered by his intrusion. All of the focus was elsewhere. He didn't care enough to pay attention. The fluorescent lights and smell of antiseptic were making him itch the longer he stayed there.

He wandered the corridors, searching for an exit. There were no windows, no way to know if he was on the ground floor or higher. He shouldered past a group of people that were hanging around a single door. Somewhere from behind a different door loud screaming erupted. Nobody paid it any mind and he swiftly moved on.

It was like this everywhere he went. After each turn he took there were way too many people in various states of distress and injury.

A commotion started ahead and people came running and screaming. Madara plastered himself to the wall to prevent being trampled over. Guttural growls reached his ears amongst the chaos. People fell over each other, scrambling to get back to feet. Some even latched onto others...biting?

Madara looked away from the bizarre sight and moved forward. The metallic tang of blood permitted in the air and something else, something he couldn't exactly place. It reminded him of burnt meat. His eyes watered from the overpowering smell.

Something wasn't right.

Suddenly the corridor was empty. All of the people had fled the other way. Heavy, rough almost like growling breathing came from just behind the next turn. Lights flickered.

He paused, taking an involuntary step back.

Like in slow motion a skeletal like creature with large horns stepped out, filling the expanse of the corridor. It had no eyes just empty eye sockets with two yellow glowing dots and sharp uncovered teeth. The few muscles it had were bare, no skin. It raised its talons, dragging them across the wall, easily breaking plaster.

His breath hitched and he high-tailed it back down the hallway. He got a stitch in his side and he easily lost his breath. Damn injuries. Fuck searching for an exit, a bloody window will do, be it ground floor or higher. He wasn't going to deal with whatever that thing was.

The thing slowly advanced through the corridor, the hooves of its feet clacking like an ominous clock.

Madara ripped open the first door that he could find. Like cued everyone that was in the room looked at him with glassy eyes and open mouths. The sight was eerie, and he slowly shut the door closed. Nope, not dealing with that either.

Scraping of nails drew closer.

He didn't dare look behind at the creature and ran farther. He already had enough nightmare fuel to last him a lifetime. This shit didn't need to be added to that.

The further he went the more bloodshed happened. People were acting crazy and attacking each other – ripping, scratching, biting. Madara avoided the more enthusiastic ones, whacking them in the head with the book or shoving them into the wall. Each strenuous movement ripped a harsh grimace from him. Something warm trickled down his side, he must've torn a stitch.

The hospital was like a maze. Screams echoed through the wide corridors.

Trying another door seemed less and less appealing. Most of the commotion was coming from inside the rooms. He turned what felt like the millionth corner only to be met with the same sight as before – corridor filled with people, some screaming in agony as others tore into them. Flesh was being ripped straight from the bone, the motion staining the pristine walls in red.

The lights flickered.

Madara backtracked, this time following the rush of other people that had managed to get away from the scene.

Was he dreaming? This wasn't something that happened in real life. Too much was happening too fast.

Another turn, another picture of carnage. The whole expanse of the corridor was smeared red, various parts of what used to be a human scattered all over. The metallic tang of blood filled his nostrils.

The corridor was empty and ignoring the gore he ran through it, tracking bloody footprints after him.

In the next corridor he had to beat off more people, their teeth clacking and fingers twitching. All of them looked deranged and were injured in one way or another, some less gruesome than others. Heavy growls left their mouths, froth gathering at the corners.

It was like from the films – people hungry for human flesh. What did they call them again? Ah, zombies.

A particularly mobile zombie lunged at him. Madara shielded himself with the wrapped book from its hands. If he remembered right then zombies were infectious, though he couldn't recall exactly how they transferred the infection. Watching TV hadn't been a leisure he could have had afforded to engage in lately. Then again this was real life and not a film. Madara kicked the zombie back into a pile of other people? Or zombies? It didn't matter. He pushed past the pile, grimacing at the gouged up man the zombies were feasting on and took another turn.

There in the middle of the corridor, a pale pink head and a couple other people in white overcoats were batting away zombies with chairs and IV stands. He briefly connected the hair colour to Dr Haruno. She was beating away a zombie that had lodged its teeth in her arm with a hefty surgical tool.

The corridor was blocked and whatever problems Dr Haruno was facing were not his own. He backtracked to the junction and took a different corridor.

Blessedly, after another turn and a beat off sneak attack from a zombie he had found the exit, as indicated by the bright green sticker overhead.

The back entrance parking lot didn't have anything out of the ordinary – it was sparsely covered in vehicles. Wet gurgling broke that image. Not too far from a red smeared ambulance two zombafied paramedics slinked, their mouths wide open and posture unnaturally bent. Loud screams tore through the air, a window of the hospital breaking somewhere.

Madara scanned the various vehicles, looking for something fast to get him as far away from here as possible, preferably back to his loft. Undoubtedly this zombie thing will spread, and the city will be swarmed. Which was his cue to pack up and get the fuck out of Konoha.

As luck would have it, a police motorcycle was left abandoned with the keys in the ignition not too far away. He secured the book in a pouch on the motorcycle and revved the engine. The sound captured the attention of the paramedic zombies. But before any of them could get any closer he was already speeding out of the parking lot and into the streets.

The city itself was relatively calm, and the sun was low in the sky. It was rush hour and with the bike, he easily traversed through the traffic.

Something was off, though. The people were distraught, their faces dim and gait hurried. The people driving were more aggressive almost frantic. It was like the city was at the brink of panic.

It didn't matter. What mattered was finding out what happened to him. Who injured him and what was up with the morbid looking book?


	2. Tales From The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song for this chapter: In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins

_May 20th, 1987_

Numerous eyes followed his movements, their fingers perched on the triggers of their rifles. Most had a look of neutrality, some, those that likely recognized him, glared at him.

Madara ignored all of them and in a leisure pace followed his chaperone, a medium height woman with short-cropped, black hair, and enjoyed the sunny weather.

This survivalist camp didn't differ much from all of the other ones he'd seen, this one was actually better guarded than some and was a lot larger. Supposedly one of the biggest camps near Konoha. He had never dealt with them before – a four-hour ride from his base was too expensive. Gas was precious in this time. But as luck would have it, none of the camps near Konoha could provide him with the equipment he needed.

Two years was a long time, enough for smaller camps to be running low on ammo and get a bit stingy with sharing it. Madara had tried to tell himself that he didn't need it, though a particularly bad run-in with a demon had proved him wrong. Bullets were necessary, especially for someone in his situation.

He kept his face neutral when one of the habitants sneered and spit at his feet. Ah, he must have had roughed up that one or a relative at least.

The zombie apocalypse had been great for his wanted ass, yet moments like this were a reminder to what he left in the past and how it still followed him. This was one of the reasons why he was living alone – people didn't like him, and he didn't like people. Being a drifter suited him just fine.

The woman escorted him to a nondescript building, opening the door to allow him to go in first. He hadn't asked, but he assumed that she'd led him to their de facto leader. Not surprising that a camp in this size was acting more organized and didn't allow their members to just accept help from strangers single-mindedly. Hopefully all they're going to need were just some extra hands on supply runs or clean-up of a building from zombies. Not demons though, he didn't deal with demons when others were nearby.

Inside it was dark and empty. Surprisingly it was clean and kept in good condition.

The woman led him to another door. She knocked on it before opening it and motioning him to go inside.

It took a lot to shock him speechless, yet when he entered the room he was at a loss for words. Tsunade, the little, bratty sister of Hashirama, was sitting behind a desk, exuding confidence. The light from the window on her right made her blonde hair almost glow. The apocalypse hadn't changed her at all. Madara chuckled. Of course, this harpy would survive the outbreak. She was a menace as a kid and no doubt still was.

Her amber eyes met his. Unlike him she wasn't phased at all, only appraised him with a calculating look. "I suppose you're here for a job." It wasn't a question but a blunt statement.

He smiled sardonically. "Long time no see, Tsunade. How long has it been? Five years now?"

She didn't return the sentiment and crossed her hands on the table. "Not long enough. Last I heard you'd been sentenced to prison for – how long was it? - ten years?"

"Fifteen actually, but it doesn't matter, in the end they couldn't prove anything." He gauged her office, nodding at the tidy space and her little decorations in the form of various types of guns perched on the tables near the wall. "Lovely office."

Tsunade ignored him. "I can't offer you anything."

"How are your brothers doing? Still alive?"

She frowned, leaning back in her chair. "Fine. I could ask you the same. How's Izuna?"

He froze, suddenly the pleasantries not so pleasant. So she hadn't heard the news, unless she was twisting the knife in the wound. He couldn't tell, her expression conveyed nothing. Hastily he changed the subject. "I'm willing to do anything in exchange for five boxes of 7.62 mm and five of 12 gauge ammo, and some food."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "I told you, I'm not employing you. I don't trust you, Madara."

Madara sighed, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. They had stripped him of all weapons at the gate and right now he missed his Swiss knife greatly, the comfort of the cool metal gone. "You know me, Tsunade, longer than most and you know that I'm not in the habit of fucking over friends."

"We're not friends, not any more."

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Okay, I know that my reputation for the past few years hasn't been the best-," She snorted. "-but it just happened, okay? Don't judge me from the rumours you've heard."

Dubiously she raised her eyebrows. "So you're trying to tell me that you didn't distribute heroin on the streets of Konoha and didn't build up a cartel large enough to catch the attention of the police?"

She wasn't wrong, and he couldn't argue that. But she hadn't heard all of it, thank lord. "I dabbled in all kinds of things." He shrugged off the accusation. "But that's beside the point. I'm not that person any more. The fall of society can change a man. I'll do anything. I seriously need those rounds."

Tsunade inclined her head, leaning back, searching his face for something. "How do you know that we even have what you need?"

He snorted. "Come now, don't play dumb. I saw what your men were packing. You have them."

"Maybe I'm not willing to share."

Madara put up his hands in exhausted defeat. "Alright. I'm just saying – I'm willing to do more than anyone else here might be up to. I know my way around these areas and know how to take down demons." He tried to bite back a smirk at her unguarded, shocked look.

"Bullshit." She sneered, composing herself.

He looked away from her to a disassembled bolt-action rifle on one of the tables. She must have connections with the military or she's a bloody good thief. Rifles weren't easy to come by, especially in the quantity she had. "You just have to know the right spot where to shoot them. Not being scared shitless also helps, they can smell that, y'know."

Tsunade leaned forwards on the table, threading her fingers.

He smirked. Gotcha.

"How do I know you're not lying?"

Rats. She was a tough nut to crack. Most people jumped at the opportunity to know more about the demons. The skeletal like creatures were virtually unbeatable, they didn't have obvious weak spots like the zombies and they were a lot smarter.

"When have I ever lied to you?" She opened her mouth and he cut her off before she could respond, knowing what she was going to say. "And lying about burning down your treehouse doesn't count. I was eleven. It was an accident and I was too afraid of my father to tell anyway."

Tsunade pouted. "You still lied to me, damn bastard."

She was never going to let this go, was she? Still, he was delighted to see that she had loosened up some, at least enough not to guard her expressions any more. "Then allow me to to make it up to you. Hire me for a job." Despite him already trying to make up for that particular incident for nearly two decades.

Throwing out her hands in defeat, she slumped back in her chair. "Fine. I have a job that not many are willing to go through with. It's important, though. Tobirama offered to go already, you could join him. We'd need to find one more-"

Madara cut her off, irritation rising at the mention of Tobirama. "I'm going alone."

"That's not safe. We always reconnaissance in teams of two or three."

"I can easily do this alone."

She continued like he hadn't spoken at all. "The thing is, this is a rescue mission. Sakura has been gone for a fortnight and I'm worried. She should have been back last week." Suddenly she smiled, leaning forward. "You remember my friend Sakura, right?"

He drew his brows. "The name is vaguely familiar, yes."

Tsunade shook her head. "Well, we have been doing some testing on the zombies. It's an intriguing condition. Anyway, Sakura and Kotetsu left for Konoha in search of some supplies that could hopefully aid us in our research."

Madara chuckled. "Don't tell me you're trying to save those poor sobs? Ever the saviour, Tsunade?"

She raised her finger as if chiding him. "Saving those people isn't our goal, but if in our research we do come across a solution, of course, I'm going to use it." Flattening her lips, she continued, "I'm not doing this to be labelled as a saviour, I'm doing this to keep the people here safe. Knowledge is power – the more we discover the stronger we get."

He shuffled on his feet, walking in a small circle around her office, taking in the wear of time on the walls. "Tell me then, what have you discovered?"

She hummed, following his movements with her eyes. "Complete your mission first then I'll think about sharing that information with you."

"Fine, fine." Cunning woman, dangling something like this in front of him. He didn't doubt her knowledge either – she had been a well-renowned doctor before the outbreak. While he knew enough about the demons, unfortunately, all of his knowledge about the zombies was self-learned on the field. He hated not knowing things. He could make a deal with her – he could tell her about the demons and her – zombies, though he wasn't comfortable in sharing that knowledge, especially how he came about it. It could lead to questions, questions he wasn't willing to answer. "But, I'm going alone. I work better when alone."

"I don't doubt that, but I would suggest taking at least one other person with you. I know you have some stupid, childish beef with my brother-" she rolled her eyes, sighing as if the issue was a long-aged nuisance, "-so take someone else. For example, Shizune is a-"

"No," he clipped, meeting her honey eyes.

She didn't back down, and they stared at each other, faces drawn. A muscle in her jaw ticked until she relented, averting her gaze. "Alright." Tsunade got up from her seat. "Before you head back out again I'll give you some supplies." She motioned with her head to follow her as she trekked out of the stuffy room.

Madara fell in step with her, following through the dark corridors. Blessedly she stayed silent, probably ticked off at him for twisting her arm. Knowing her, not a lot of people had the guts to talk back to her. Hashirama definitely could never talk Tsunade out of trouble, despite being the eldest of the Senju siblings, even Tobirama – the youngest – couldn't sway her.

Tsunade led him to a large open area, a hangar of sorts. The space was filled to the brim with crates. She manoeuvred the maze like an expert until she led him to a larger clearing with a table in the middle and all kinds of trinkets around it.

"I'll inform Genma to ration some gas for you when you leave." She shuffled the items around the table. "You'll need this." She shoved a large item in his hand.

He turned it around. "A walkie-talkie?"

Tsunade nodded, moving to a box near the table. "It's military-grade, has a better range. Should help you in finding Sakura. It's on the same channel as her comm last was, so don't fiddle with it."

The large item was clunky but sturdy. This indeed proved to him that Tsunade had military contacts. She'd be a good ally to have. He clipped it to his belt. "So can you tell me anything about her? How she looks and such. Sakura, I mean."

"You really don't remember her." Tsunade barked out a laugh.

"I wasn't in the habit of keeping track of you and your brutish friends, sorry."

She straightened herself, two green, small boxes in hand and grinned. "Don't tell me you don't remember the little, pink-haired girl that conned you and Izuna from your toys."

Madara frowned. He'd assumed that she had been talking about a friend from her hospital, not one from their childhood. Now that she did mention it, he faintly did remember Tsunade one day bringing over a shy girl with long, pink hair. That was until Tsunade had indoctrinated the girl with her harpy like mannerisms. The said girl also one time had tried to separate Izuna from his favourite polar bear stuffed toy. Izuna was the youngest of the group and had yet to beat some of the more childish habits the rest of them had outgrown.

"She only got Izuna. I never fell for her lies."

Her smile turned positively cunning. "Ah, but you still relented to her." She laughed, sitting back on the table. "Dear lord, I remember you were like a hawk – always watching over Izuna and he always followed you like a tail. It was adorable." She got a faraway look, gazing in the distance.

Madara didn't share her sentiments. Protecting his brother was only natural, especially when someone like Tsunade had picked on him.

"Y'know my husband Dan didn't make it. I miss him dearly." She gently stroked the box in her hand with her thumb. He could only tilt his head at the abrupt change of topic. "Hashirama has Mito and Tobirama...well I think Tobirama is just trying to cope." She sighed deeply, letting silence settle between them. "What about you. Wife and kids? Or did you decide to bat for the other team?" She chuckled, meeting his eyes.

He frowned and crossed his arms, refusing to answer.

Tsunade continued. "How about Izuna? What did he make of himself? God, I hope he wasn't foolish enough to follow you and your hobbies."

Madara froze, glaring at her. His fingers dug into his arms. "You're awfully sentimental today, Tsunade," he bit out.

She smiled mysteriously. "The fall of society can change a woman." And threw his words back at him. Quietly she returned her gaze back to the box in her hands, reminiscing. Thankfully, she didn't press for an answer to all of her questions.

It was eerie seeing her so somber. She looked fragile and older than she actually was, the slight layer of grime on her clothes adding to the image. It shouldn't have been so surprising, the outbreak had changed a lot of people. Even if she did still have the silly pigtails and brutish attitude the apocalypse had taken something from her and usurped her life.

A sudden ball of guilt settled in his stomach. It was almost an alien feeling. He hadn't had friends in his adult life, only business partners and acquaintances. But seeing a childhood friend brought back all kinds of emotions in him. He'd thought he'd quenched something like guilt about his mistakes years ago. Showing emotion, even feeling it got men killed in the life he had had.

Tsunade thrust out the two boxes to him. "Two boxes of your requested 7.62 mm."

He took them quietly, eyeing her carefully in case she suddenly started spouting more sentimental drivel. Blessedly, she didn't and kept her eyes pinned to the ground far beyond.

Visibly she shook herself out of her stupor. "I can give you more guns if you need. What are you carrying right now?"

Madara shook his head. "No need. I'm fine with what I have."

"Okay." She smiled and for the first time it reached her eyes. She hefted herself off the table, clapping her hands clean from dust. "Come, I'll give you some food rations for the trip, too."

He followed her out of the clearing and back into the maze. Her mood had taken a sudden change, a change he didn't like. It was like she'd detached herself from reality and flowed in this dream world of the past. "Just so you know, these types of missions never turn out positively. This isn't the first time I've been asked to search someone down."

She nodded, turning to him. "Let's hope that you're wrong then." She patted his cheek the same sad smile on her face.

The action was oddly affectionate, and he recoiled from it. Human contact was not something he received often, especially non-threatening contact.

Tsunade gave him two days worth of rations and led him out of her stronghold. All throughout the process, she was chatting about her daily life, Tobirama and the woman named Shizune. She even mentioned how Hashirama and Mito were in charge of a different camp not too far from here. It was larger than hers and mostly took in wanderers while her camp focused on clearing areas from zombies and research. It certainly explained the armed to the teeth habitants.

It was reassuring to know that not too far from Konoha there was a place that focused on righting the wrongs in the world, a place that was safe. And even if he didn't want to admit it out loud, it was reassuring to know that his long-time friends had survived the apocalypse. He wasn't completely alone in this world.

Maybe if Tsunade had known the whole truth she would have been less welcoming, nevertheless, he was glad that she had treated him as an old friend and not as a criminal. He was tired of the label. It had been of his own making, and he regretted it, but it was just another mistake in his life he had to deal with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot thickens and yes I'm totally gonna add the childhood friends to lovers trope here. I'm going to gradually reveal information about the world. Next chapter will be longer and more action oriented, also we'll finally meet Sakura properly.


	3. Dressed to Kill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if I mentioned this before, but this story is going to be separated by days, so each chapter is a single day. It also means that chapters will vary in length.

_May 22nd, 1987_

He had started his search in the city, it was doubtful Sakura had left it and it had been her destination. The streets of Konoha were filled with zombies and demons, way too many demons. Konoha was ground zero for the apocalypse and the most contaminated place in the world. It was dangerous to traverse by foot, yet he was forced to devolve to such means of travel. It saved gas, though it did not save time.

For two days he had scouted the city. He'd leave his bike in a secure place and go through the most probable places Tsunade had mentioned Sakura could be. The task hadn't been made easier by the demons who always locked on to him like a beacon. He was a good shot, but he'll be hard-pressed to waste his ammo on each demon that passed his path.

It was midday, the late spring sun beat down on him. The whole city stunk like rotting flesh. It was never pleasant during warm weather. In the distance a couple of zombies bobbed around a beaten car, a couple more slowly dragged their feet down the street. If he was quiet enough he'll be able to sneak right past them, the smell shouldn't be a problem either – he'd slashed through enough zombies when coming into the city that their stench clung to him like a vice.

Every now and then he called out to Sakura through the comm. Nothing. He'll give it another day or two before reporting back to Tsunade. Usually, he spared two days to search for someone missing, knowing that it was a lost cause. But this was Tsunade and just for her, he could spare some extra time and by extension Sakura.

It'd been fifteen years since he'd last seen Sakura and most of his childhood memories were shrouded with time. She was younger than him by three years if he recalled correctly. She hadn't visited Tsunade that often, at least not with him and the other guys around. She had been obnoxious and talked a lot about the most frivolous of things. Izuna had been perturbed by her interest in him, which by all means was as superficial as she had been.

Needless to say, he wasn't looking forward to seeing her again if she was anything like her child self had been. Tsunade did mention that she had been a doctor in Konoha general hospital like her and that she was no slouch – could pack a mean right hook. That had been a surprise. He remembered her as someone who'd rather sit on the sidelines and let others do the dirty work.

He pushed his sunglasses up and swiped the sweat from his brow. The summer heat was setting in. He quickly scanned his surroundings – no demons, just a couple of harmless zombies. It was safe to let go of his rifle and remove his jacket. The relief was instant, the light breeze cooling his heated skin.

An intersection was coming up the road and he tried calling out to Sakura again. He jolted in surprise when the device cracked and a voice came through.

" _Goddamn...shit, you scared the piss out of me._ "

Likewise.

Madara composed himself and brought the comm back to his mouth. "Where are you?"

The comm transmitted static for a while until her voice came through. " _...hospital. I've been stuck here for days…surrounded by…and I can't fight them off._ " Her voice kept cutting in and out, the buildings messing with the signal.

He got the essentials and reassured her that he'll be there soon.

It wasn't too far – just at the end of the intersection and left from there was Konoha general hospital. He chuckled. How ironic that she had gotten stuck in her old workplace.

Sakura kept talking, explaining her situation in scattered pieces. The closer he got the clearer her voice was. What he got from her was that she'd been looking for medical supplies. Her friend, someone named Kotetsu, had died by a demon's hand and turned into a zombie. She'd had to kill her teammate. After, she'd gotten surrounded by a horde of zombies in the hospital with demons constantly patrolling the corridors. It wasn't a favourable situation, but he had beat worse odds.

The demons were out for fresh blood like vultures. He was confident that once they got their sights of him they'll drop her and turn the horde of zombies after him. The angular, scarred symbol of a skull burned his forearm. A sign – more than one demon was around.

Madara hid behind an upturned car, surveying the front of the hospital. He removed his sunglasses, storing them in a pocket. "Which wing are you in?" he asked Sakura through the comm. "I'm near the front."

" _East wing, but I can make my way towards the front._ "

"Don't bother, I'll clear the whole place."

" _The whole place?!_ " she exclaimed. " _Are you insane? That's impossible._ "

Not for someone in his position. He was the lucky bloke that just happened to be a magnet of demons – the skull mark attracted them. "Once everything is cleared, head down the street towards south. There in an alley between a boutique and a bakery, I hid my bike. Wait for me there."

" _What the hell are you planning to do?_ " She sounded incredulous.

He scanned his surroundings and nearby found a ransacked general store. Swiftly he entered the place through the busted window. Everything was broken and covered in dirt. Glass littered the floor. Come on, there must be at least one bottle. Behind the register, he found what he was looking for. Belatedly he answered Sakura, "I'm making a distraction for you to escape."

A rotting zombie corpse was on the ground. Madara unscrewed the two bottles of vodka, took a hearty swig for some courage and stuffed rags from the zombie in the nozzles. From his pocket, he pulled out a lighter and lit the rags. It was about to get messy soon, so he donned his jacket again.

Molotov in each hand he steadily walked towards the horde of zombies surrounding the entrance. No demons were in sight, at least for now. He threw one bottle at the groaning crowd. The zombies caught fire instantly, their reaction was slower though. They turned towards him, dragging their feet. The stench coming from them was awful. He threw the other bottle at a different crowd, catching the attention of zombies there. The sun had dried them enough that the fire spread easily between the zombies.

In a matter of minutes, the whole horde was on fire. The stench was unbearable and to shield himself from it in some way he pulled his bandanna over his face.

Some of the zombies with angry growls leapt towards him, decayed parts of flesh falling off due to fire. None of their faces were recognizable as human, their features heavily distorted by decay and damage.

A loud screech echoed across the street and two demons jumped through the busted windows of the hospital. Their sharp teeth stained dark red and their little eyes glowing an ominous yellow. They easily towered over the zombies, swiping through them like shish kabobs with their talon-like hands.

He waited a moment more, tense as a spring until three more demons leapt from the second and third storey of the building on the ground, creating a rumble.

Now was a good moment as any to haul ass. Up ahead was a blocked street filled with cars and other vehicles, which will stop the zombies. The demons he'll try to lose by zigzagging through buildings. Their large stature and horns made it a lot harder for them to easily traverse through enclosed spaces. In theory, it should work.

Rubble and dead, rotting bodies filled the road. He easily manoeuvred over the cars, the agitated growls of zombies not far back. The demons were smarter and scaled the buildings, scurrying sideways across them after him. He counted at least seven demons on the walls. Crap, that was way too many.

The zombie horde thinned, some of them burning up, others got trampled over by the more enthusiastic gurgling zombies. They kept making loud screams which attracted more zombies laying in hiding in buildings.

A demon let out a ghastly moan, dropping on a car right behind him, sending glass flying everywhere.

At the last moment, he rolled out of the way of swiping talons, rushing into an open door building. The sudden change from light to dark left him temporarily blind and he ran into something sharp. Cursing profusely Madara ran deeper into the building, avoiding a screaming, leaping zombie that had been hiding in one of the rooms.

At the front rubble exploded as the first demon pushed into the building.

The old hotel had been boarded up at the staircase. He frantically tried different doors, searching for an open window to leap out of.

Another screech echoed across the walls – another demon had made its way inside.

Amidst the chaos and his own panting, he heard Sakura speak through the comm. " _Holy..., it actually worked,...left...they are..._ "

Madara found an empty room and closed the door behind him. He tried to calm his breathing before he responded, "Get out. Now."

It sounded like he'd rallied half the city from how loud it was outside. It won't be long before the demons merged, creating a new beast. They knew he was around, the mark was practically scorching his arm.

Growling zombies tumbled through the hallway, through that the heavy steps of a demon followed. They were sniffing, sniffing for him.

Sakura's affirmative was cut off when he smashed in what was left of the window with a loose plank and jumped out. Two zombies waited for him at the bottom. He swiftly pulled out his hunting knife and incapacitated the zombies, slashing through the brittle flesh and bone of their necks like butter.

Some of the demons had been smarter and hadn't followed him inside and had waited for him at the end of the street. One of the demons screeched.

He ran across the street into the next building. There were barricades everywhere made from furniture. It was a single run through the place and into the next one.

The heat was getting to him and sweat ran down his back in rivulets. He swiped his sticky bangs away from his face, manoeuvring through a maze of corridors. He needed to lose the demons and fast. He didn't think he was bleeding, so getting them off his scent should be easy. Just had to put enough distance between him and the demons.

Madara swiftly found an exit, hand gripping the knife like a vice. His heart thudded in his chest, drowning out the growls of zombies. The demons had trailed after him in the dark corridors. He scanned his surroundings, trying to find anything that could hide him when Sakura's voice crackled through the comms again.

" _Where are you? I can come and get you._ " Her voice was clear and determined. She wasn't too far away. In his haste, he hadn't bothered to pay much attention in which direction he had been going. Nothing of note was around him, all of the buildings looked the same – an apartment district.

He pulled his bandanna down, bringing the comm to his mouth. "Stay put." He doubled back into the next building besides the one he'd come out of, pushing through an unsuspecting crowd of zombies. They were harmless enough to not to worry about any scratches.

" _If you think I'm leaving you alone when I can hear the commotion, you're sourly mistaken._ "

He groaned. As stubborn as ever, she hadn't changed at all. "Don't move, I'll come to you. I'm not too far." At least judging from the clarity of her voice, he must not be too far away from his bike.

The number of demons pursuing him dwindled, some of them got stuck in the low ceiling corridors. The zombies were of no concern by this point, their numbers too small to be a threat. The interior was too destroyed to be an obstacle and he ran through the building in lighting speed.

Fast approaching footsteps came from his left and he drew his knife, ready to strike. He stopped at the last moment when a familiar face came into view. Pale pink hair, bright green eyes and a masterful scowl on it. This must be Sakura. She'd changed a lot – her hair was shorter and covered in grime like the rest of her. A large backpack towered behind her. She had an oversized bomber jacket on, jeans and red vans. Yet he couldn't bite down the feeling like he'd seen her somewhere before. And quite recently.

"I told you to stay put," he bit out.

She scanned his person, eyes staying longer on the comm. Ah, she must have not known who exactly had come after her. Her brows drew in confusion before she relaxed. "I was nearby. I want to help."

Madara shook his head, there was no point in fighting with her when demons were still chasing his ass. "Whatever. Let's go back to my bike."

Sakura nodded, tilting her head curiously after. "I feel like I know you."

He set a considerably brisk pace and she followed, manoeuvring with him through the wrecks on the street. "Because you do." He didn't elaborate and she frowned. There was no time for chit-chat.

A demon busted through a window and landed just a few meters behind them, giving out a loud screech that sent bloody spittle flying everywhere.

They took off running as two more demons joined the first.

"Holy hell, where are they coming from?" Sakura panted, throwing a glance over her shoulder at the ghastly creatures.

"Hell probably," he mumbled. At least the book alluded to it.

They passed through a narrow alleyway, ambling over pieces of debris and unidentifiable items. The demons were too wide – their shoulders and horns getting in the way of comfortably pursuing them. It was a few precious seconds they needed to duck into an electronics store. The place was scattered with broken TVs, stereos and other smaller items.

Sakura immediately latched onto his arm and dragged him through the store and out the back end, navigating through the alley and streets in a brisk run until they reached the spot where he'd left his bike.

The demons were unrelenting and their growls and screeches echoed across the city. They were trying to rally more zombies.

In a swift motion, he pulled out his keys and got on the bike. Sakura followed unprompted, seating herself behind him and wrapping her hands around his middle, not caring about the rifle strapped to his back at all.

A demon burst into the alley, claws scraping asphalt.

It was his cue to rev the bike and get the hell out. Sakura held onto him for dear life, face pressing into his back as they sped through the streets. Madara manoeuvred around unsuspecting zombies and wrecks as fast as he could. The demons were unrelenting, running across the tops of buildings after them. A glance told him that at least eight were on their tail with the number in no rush to decrease in the near future.

This was bad.

Sakura moved closer to him, shouting something over the rush of the wind, "There's a mall nearby. We should go there."

He didn't understand her logic behind such a decision, but he didn't have a solid rebuttal to it. The demons will chase them for as long as they had a lock on their scent – they never tired and they were fast. She must have a plan and he hoped that he wasn't doing the foolish thing by trusting her. He took a turn off the highway.

"Holy shit!" Sakura gasped, fingers digging into his sides.

He hissed. "What now?"

Heavy stomping of hooves and guttural growling answered his question – the demons had merged into one massive beast. The speed of it increased, gaining on them. What were obstacles before now were just rubble in the way for it.

Madara cursed. This is what he was fearing – a hell demon. If before he could've been able to kill the demons off with a few precise shots and a solid hiding spot then this was a monster he had no clue how to deal with. Probably would need a .50 cal rifle to even do damage, the armour on it had deflected anything else he had shot at it before.

"What the fuck is that?" Sakura shouted and he was reminded that regular people usually didn't have to face a hell demon.

The mark on his arm burned like fire and he clenched his jaw. What rotten luck. The demons certainly knew that he was here. A quick glimpse back. Yep, they were totally fucked.

Right behind the hell demon, a horde of zombies were on the horizon, ambling out of the thick of the city.

In hast movements, he parked near the extensive mall building. The place was deserted with only old car wrecks marring the parking lot while the building itself looked to be untouched ever since the outbreak. Colourful banners and advertisements were still perched all around, busted shopping carts and garbage strewn around.

Sakura was first to react and jump off the bike, starting on a search for the nearest entrance. They only had a few minutes before the hell demon would catch up on them. He aided her in the search.

An ominous screech echoed across the empty lot and Sakura covered her ears, visibly trembling.

Madara ignored it and rushed her along the side of the building. The screech rallied zombies stuck in the mall, a chorus of groans and gurgles emitted.

There just up ahead was a door ajar, something had lodged in it. He rushed in, Sakura right on his heels, and kicked out the brick that kept the door open.

The ground shook from the heavy steps of the approaching hell demon.

Inside it stunk like death and putrid flesh. It was dark enough that it blinded him for a moment. Sakura gagged and he automatically pulled his bandana over his face to avoid the same fate. It was infested with zombies. The screech had awakened most of them and they were piling in groups.

The noise of their entry had attracted the attention of a nearby rather large zombie. It groaned, its rotten flesh jiggling like jelly with each step it took. The zombie was too big and fleshy to take out with a single knife swipe.

He took the lead, latching onto Sakura's wrist and rushed them past the ambling zombie, avoiding to step on any glass or rubble on the floor as best as he could.

More zombies dragged their feet out in the hallway, gaining awareness of their presence from their loud footsteps and the gradually approaching roars of the hell demon.

"I hope you know what we're gonna do here..." he muttered, scanning the ruins of the mall. Debris and various broken items were scattered on the floor along with dead bodies of zombies and long since decayed corpses of humans. The zombies themselves were having a rough time manoeuvring through the labyrinth of trash.

Sakura extracted herself from his grip with a stern face. "They follow smell, right? And currently, you're bleeding."

Well, shit that might be the reason why the demons merged and were able to follow them like bloodhounds. He quickly gave himself a once over, but it was too dark to see and he couldn't feel anything either. If anything he felt hot from the stale and heated air inside.

"We need to cover our scent with something strong." She rushed through the hallways, only peeking briefly in the ransacked shops.

He followed her, swiftly taking care of any zombie that came too close with his knife. "What do you have in mind?"

They didn't have a lot of time to loiter around. The number of zombies coming after them was slowly increasing, one wrong step and they will be surrounded.

The building shook, pieces of debris falling from the ceiling – the demon had made its entrance.

"Perfume. I remember that there used to be a perfume shop here." Sakura stalled and he nearly crashed into her. A small gathering of zombies blocked their way. She made a sound of disgust. The zombies had been stuck inside for the duration of the apocalypse and in the humid air inside they had turned rancid.

"Second storey – there was a store like that." He pulled her away from a lunging zombie and ran for the stairs. Gurgling groans followed them. Trash covered every corner of the place, hitting their shoes and causing a lot of noise.

The demon was coming closer, the foundation of the building shivering from the force it put upon it. It could bring down the whole building from its size.

The second floor was less crowded and the zombies here paid them less attention, most of them stuck in the shops barricaded by furniture.

Sakura took the lead, breaking out in a run, pulling him along.

Another screech and the zombies around them woke up, like on instinct setting their sights on them.

Both of them cursed and Madara didn't have time to be surprised at her choice of words before she pulled him into a shop. The shelves were broken and the floor was covered with broken glass containers. The glass crunched under their boots. The sickeningly sweet smell of something artificially flowery and alcohol overpowered the smell of rot.

Sakura swept the store until she found a couple of bottles that weren't as damaged and handed him one. "Quickly." With brute strength, she ripped the top off and dropped the liquid all over her.

Following her lead, he ripped off the top of the bottle and just like her dumped the contents of it over his front, arms and, less willingly, his head. This was going to be a bitch to get out. They scourged the shop and dumped the few intact bottles they could find over them.

The growls from the zombies were coming closer. The hell demon was stuck somewhere, but its screeches still reverberated in the halls in an eerie way.

"We need to get out now before the hell demon brings down the whole building." The continuous shaking of the building and falling debris got him concerned.

"Agreed." Sakura grabbed a couple more bottles and stored them in her backpack.

While they had been busy in the shop zombies had surrounded the entrance. Without thinking much Madara whipped out his knife and incapacitated the first zombie that lunged at him. Sakura surprised him by punching the zombies in the face with enough strength to send them staggering back. They quickly cleared an exit and rushed out. Sakura was more familiar with the layout and lead them back down to the ground floor again. The zombies weren't moving fast enough to catch up.

"We'll have to circle back around to my bike. The demon is stuck for now."

Sakura nodded in response, a grimace on her face.

In a rush, they ran through the gathering crowd of zombies on the ground floor and went out through the main entrance. Finding his bike was easy and he only spared a short glance towards the giant hole in the side of the building where they first had entered.

Sakura was more flabbergasted, faltering in her steps. He pulled her along and in a swift move, they were out of there, the noise catching the attention of only some of the zombies. Sakura clutched to him a lot closer than previously, he could only imagine that the reality of a giant demon chasing them had finally sunk in. The roars of the demon stayed behind them.

The wind on his face was refreshing, even with the perfume abusing his nose. At least now he could exhale and relax for a moment. The tension was slowly leaving his body.

It was early evening. He'll probably manage to get Sakura back to Tsunade's camp before sundown. As much as he wanted to finally go back to his own place for a good nap he knew that he won't be able to make the way back while the sun was still up. It was dangerous to travel during the night – while the zombies weren't as active, the demons were just as dangerous as they were during the day.

The drive was uneventful and eventually Sakura relaxed. It was a quick pass through the cities main roads.

For half an hour they rode in comfortable silence, enjoying the moment of peace. Until ahead on the road he saw a moving mass of something dark.

Madara slowly decelerated.

"Why did you stop?" Sakura asked, leaning over his shoulder.

He frowned. There across the road were a mass of zombies, a whole horde of it. It was too hot for them in Konoha at this time of the year, so they were migrating to the north. The smell of rotten flesh was strong even from the distance they were at.

Sakura stayed quiet, tightening her fingers around his shoulders.

Madara sighed. "It might take them a day or two to pass. 'm afraid there aren't any other roads back, so you'll have to wait." Not one that wasn't a complete roundabout and he frankly didn't have the gas to waste.

"Right. It's nothing. What are two more days of waiting on top of everything?" The displeased tone was clear in her voice. "What now?"

"We go back to my camp." Madara turned the bike around on the road. He had a camp not too far from the city in the woods. He would prefer not to take her to his place and disclose the location, but it was dangerous to stay in the city at night. There was the obvious danger of being ambushed by zombies and demons then there were the bands of renegades who preyed on lost people, stole their loot and killed them if they were lucky. It was a miracle Sakura had managed to stay alive for so long in the city.

The sun was low in the sky by the time they reached the watchtower. A sturdy chainlink fence surrounded the metal tower. Initially, he'd been a bit sceptical to make his resting place so high up in the fear of getting ambushed easily. Thankfully, the woods kept out most of the zombies and the fence fended off any wayward zombie. Demons didn't like the woods at all.

He hadn't been back in weeks and seeing the rusty tower again in one piece, everything as he left it was reassuring.

When he parked Sakura was first to get off. She stretched, observing the tower with interest. "So..."

He ignored her attempt to start a conversation and instead made busy with going over his supplies and unstrapping his rifle. The sickeningly sweet smell of the perfume was making him nauseous. That needed to be fixed before he got a damn headache.

Sakura was pouting, hands on her hips. He didn't know what she expected. A good ole chat about the weather?

Madara passed her, giving his makeshift camp a once over just to make sure nothing indeed had been touched. Crates of random supplies under the tower along with spare gas tanks hidden under a tarp. Piles of firewood lining the fence and a couple of barrels of rainwater. As he moved he removed his jacket and placed it on the table near the barrels.

Tentatively Sakura followed him, watching him move. With a rustle, she removed her backpack.

The air was rapidly cooling down. Random bugs buzzed all around, night birds sung. Somewhere further away a fox barked. It was peaceful and a nice change from the sweltering city. Sometimes he preferred to just sit and listen to nature and forget that the world outside the forest was gone. It was a blessing that after all the chaos the creatures from hell had caused that nature still persisted.

He continued to undress, leaving his grime-covered clothes in a heap on the ground for later washing, and picked up a random rag from a nearby box and threw it towards Sakura. "Clean up."

She caught it, eyeing it weirdly.

Madara pulled his hair up, putting it in a short messy ponytail for now.

Sakura gasped.

Curious he turned to her, he hadn't even managed to take off his pants yet. What did he do wrong?

"I remember now." She blinked and gave out a short laugh. "Holy hell, Madara, you've changed."

He hummed and continued with taking off his boots and pants. "Time will do that to a person."

"Fuck, now this is a reunion." She laughed incredulously, then, "You've grown out your hair."

"And you've cut yours." He chose a rag for himself and moved closer to one of the water barrels. The first cup of water her threw over himself was pure cool bliss.

"Oh, I did that a long time ago." Sakura had finally started to remove her layers of clothing too.

In fear of the situation turning awkward, he continued the conversation. "I cut mine too. It used to be longer, but kept getting in the way and I had to make a compromise."

Sakura eyed him for a long while. "It's hard to imagine you with long hair. That's why I couldn't place you at first."

"Ah."

The conversation died after that. He pointedly avoided looking at the bare skin Sakura presented each time she took off an article of clothing. As a kid, she used to get outraged a lot whenever they went swimming. Her usual shrill threats of smacking them over their heads if the guys dared to peek while the girls were changing still were clear in his mind. It always amused him. Older Sakura seemed to be more lack, not shy about her nudity. He did wonder if this change had come with age or because of the living conditions in the current world.

As he cleaned the sweat and grime from his body he discovered that Sakura had been right. A trail of blood had crusted over his shin. Ridiculous to think that this was the cause for all the difficulties they faced. He was surprised that Sakura had even mostly kept a straight face all through that. A hell demon was no joke and he had to commend her for her quick thinking.

Sakura had stayed closer to a different barrel. Her back was turned to him as she dumped water over herself. She had even found some of the shower products he had stowed away under the table and was lathering her hair.

It was such an odd sight. To see the little girl he remembered now as a woman with curves and a great ass. He averted his eyes. It was better not to go down that road. This was still Sakura.

"I saw that you were limping. If the gash is too serious I can help treat it."

He frowned, furrowing his brows. His gaze strayed back to her. Oh, right the gash. He hadn't even realized that he'd been limping. "It's fine, it's just a scratch." The limp was unrelated and something he'd rather not discuss. His ankle tended to act up sometimes after a long day of walking and running and that's it.

Sakura thankfully didn't push it and continued her wash, humming a tune to herself. Her switch from distressed to content was eerie. If getting to clean up made her this happy he was afraid to think how she'll react when she'll finally get a decent cot to sleep on after days of nothing.

Madara followed Sakura's lead and moved to wash his tangled hair, it was well overdue for a wash.

"So tell me, what you've been up to? How did you come across Tsunade?"

Her attempts at casual conversation didn't interest him, he'd rather stay quiet and absorb the events of the day and figure out what to do next. "It's a long story."

"We have time."

"Okay then, I don't want to talk about it."

Sakura sat down on a bench near the fence, most of her body hidden from view by the barrel. She pouted. "When did you get so grumpy?"

"When did you get so preppy?" he shot back.

They stared at each other blankly for a while until Sakura sighed. "I guess there's a lot we don't know about each other anymore."

He didn't comment and focused instead of lathering his hair and cleaning the rest of his body from the built-up grime.

"It's funny, I think I remember you being in the hospital on the day of the outbreak as well."

Madara paused. Suddenly things fell into place and the woman he'd been trying to place back then crystallized. Well, fuck. That was a crazy coincidence. "Yeah."

"How did you get out?"

"I ran."

"Oh. I wasn't so lucky. Got ambushed by a couple of zombies, nearly died. Ran into a demon, nearly died again." She sighed. "Had to leave many friends back just to escape alive from there. It was chaos. It felt like I had fallen into a horror film." Her movements stopped and she stared at the ground. "It's interesting though, the films portrayed those zombie creatures as something infectious. Get a scratch or a bite and you're one of them. I and Tsunade had been trying to figure it out – what spreads this."

He listened, pointedly staying quiet. He had a pretty good idea of what was spreading it, but without arousing suspicion and being put on the spotlight to answer questions he wasn't willing to answer he couldn't say anything. It wasn't anything she had to worry about anyway. Unless in crowds the zombies were harmless.

"The only conclusion we could come down to was that it had something to do with the demonic creatures. Whenever one of us had a confrontation with them there was a high chance for someone to come out of it zombified, didn't matter if they got injured by the creature or not. It's so random and it's driving me and Tsunade up the wall."

"Probably because it is."

She finally raised her head to meet his eyes. "What is?"

"Random." Shit, he shouldn't have said anything.

Thankfully, she didn't pick up on anything. "It's just frustrating. It feels like we're close to discovering something, saving people from this, but then we have something like this that we can't pin down."

Ah, so Tsunade wasn't the one with the saviour complex but Sakura. He knew that their little project was just a veiled attempt to play saviour. That hope they had was admirable but ultimately foolish.

Sakura dropped the subject after that and for the first time looked shyly at him. "Uhm...you wouldn't have something for me to wear while I wash these." She motioned with her head towards her pile of clothes. "That is if you even have somewhere to wash clothes."

"Yeah, hold on. There's a stream not too far from here." He got up from his stool and only halfway realized that he wasn't alone and it would be uncouth to walk around completely naked. He spared only a glance towards Sakura who had her head downturned, her face hidden behind her wet hair, a towel clutched in her hands.

Yeah, this was going to be awkward.

That late evening Sakura was restlessly fidgeting on her cot unable to fall asleep until she had said that she was going to go out. He had refused, but she'd been persistent and promised not to stray too far and stay within the range of the comms. He'd relented only if because he'd seen how tense she'd been. From experience, he knew that sleep when so worked up didn't come easy. The woods were mostly clear and if she didn't stray into a swamp she should be fine.

To unwind and finally enjoy the time alone he slipped a random cassette from his collection into his stereo and blasted it loud enough that he couldn't hear himself think. The stereo was old and the music sounded like shit, but it was better than drowning in his own poisonous thoughts. In order to do something productive, he made something to eat from scraps laying around for both of them.

Sakura came back not soon after and after a quiet, short and tense dinner he bit the bullet and asked her what was wrong. It was clear something was bothering her and while before she could veil her worry with pointless conversation now when she was finally bone-tired all of her pretences dropped.

"Nothing. I'm just tired after being stuck in the hospital for days."

He didn't press her further, even when he knew that she was lying.

For a couple of minutes, they sat in awkward silence, avoiding looking at each other. The space in the tower wasn't overly large and apart from random junk he didn't have anything interesting laying around – just living necessities and a collection of cassette tapes.

Suddenly Sakura sprung up from her cot and stepped outside. She had something in her hands. Only when she lit what appeared to be a cigarette he moved. That little devil had smokes laying around. In these times coming across an intact pack was a rarity.

He followed her outside, leaning against the railing and for a moment watched her profile in the setting sun.

She leisurely blew out the smoke. As if she'd understood his reason for coming out she wordlessly handed the cigarette to him.

Needless to say, he was kind of shocked but accepted it anyway. Sakura had truly changed a lot. The little girl he knew had matured into a worn woman. The apocalypse hadn't been kind to her, the exhaustion was visible on her face and her body was covered in bruises and scars. No one had been spared, everyone that had survived had gone through hell.

Sakura took back her cigarette, taking a long drag. "Sometimes I wish that this all would just end."

He chuckled bitterly. "Yeah."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For now, it appears as if Madara has a lot of baggage which he does and Sakura seems to have nothing going for her. Don't worry, Sakura will spill her hot tea next chapter, nothing as heavy as Madara has going on, but still something that might put a wrench between them.
> 
> Anyway, please share your thoughts. Comments feed starving authors and give them the energy to write more.


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